What is the thing you have to watch out for when turning vegetarian?!
Answers: I know some people who have turned vegetarian, and they got really boney and they have stomach and other problems now. I've heard people say that when you turn vegetarian, after a life of eating meat, you have to watch out for something... what is it?
With any diet, vegetarian, vegan, or meat eating, you simply need to watch for balance. You can't cut whole groups out of your diet without replacing them with something else (unless, of course, that group is junk food!!!) Since meat is a protein source, make sure you get plant based protein (and believe me, this is very easy to do). Eat whole grains instead of refined "white" flours and pastas and pastries, and eat portion sizes appropriate for your body and activity level. Also, eat a small serving of nuts (almost) daily. They are a good source of iron as well as protein.
Most meat-eaters I know that turned vegetarian GAINED weight, because ate a lot of junk food and refined carbs (white rice, pasta, white bread, etc.). But that was self-inflicted and not just because they stopped eating meat.
The main thing to watch out for is to make healthy substitutions for where you used to eat meat. Vegetables, protein (beans, legumes, nuts, tofu, tempeh), and WHOLE grains in normal portions should be your diet, not Doritos and Easy Mac. If you do that, you'll have no problems as a vegetarian. Good luck.
Basically, you need to make sure that you are combining your grains, legumes, etc. to get complete proteins and all of your necessary vitamins and minerals. Sometimes, vegetarians are lacking in vitamin D (found in milk products) and iron. So, read and learn how to combine and make sure you are eating plenty of dark greens.
I have found that alot of new vegetarians (not vegans) eat way too much cheese and milk products so they end up with skin problems. If you are going to consume milk products, you might want to make sure you are using low fat products.
Probably making sure you get enough protein and calcium in your diet.
really? "they got really boney and they have stomach and other problems now" really?
check out:-
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/
http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info
work out exactly what you need and then eat vegetarian foods that you give you the healthy foods.
for free and easy recipes go to:
http://www.vegetariantimes.org
You can buy most things at your local large food store. buy the ingredience for the meals.
make dinner, and save some for the next day's lunch.
good luck.
you need to make sure you get enough iron so eat lots of greens :)
It is a fancy statement. Nothing can be vegetarian. You eat all milk product and it is animal product in total.
for some reason there's an image of vegetarians being sick and boney looking, but i've never met any vegetarians that look this way. i've heard omnis/meat eaters worry that if you go veg you won't get enough protein, you'll be anemic, you won't get enough b vitamin, you'll get sick, etc.... but most of this is unwarranted as long as you eat a HEALTHY veg diet. remember, pizza and french fries are vegetarian! you can't just cut out the meat and not replace it... you do have to put effort into planning your meals and eating healthy. replace the protein using : fake meats, soy, tofu, beans, nuts, lentils, peanut butter, hummus, and lots of vegetables and fruits!
some people make the switch cold turkey, some do it slowly, do whatever works best for you. i could stand to lose a couple pounds (def. not sickly looking lol) and i actually probably eat too much protein (you don't need half as much as you might think you do) and i get all my nutrients, so it's easy to do once you get the hang of it! if you really worry you can always take a multi vitamin too.
yes, a lot of people get unhealthier because they do not know what to eat so they have fries or mac and cheese and other unhealthy stuff. I always keep veggie burgers on hand and other meatless products, and also a lot of black beans. Just make sure you are eating healthy and still getting your protein.
Meat eaters hijacking these questions
You have to watch out that you eat a broad interesting varied tasty diet that is good for you. Not really a big deal
Oh, no meat
People telling you that you're crazy or weird, and that you'll get sick or have unhealthy babies if you're female. Seriously, the thing some medically oriented people worry about is B-12. Getting enough protein is easy in this country unless you are very poor. If you are going to eat dairy and/or eggs (lacto,or ovo/lacto vegetarianism) and still considered yourself vegetarian because animals are not killed to obtain these food items, you don't need to worry about it. If you you eating no animal products at all (vegan), even honey if you are strict, take a vegetarian multivitamin. It doesn't hurt to take one, whatever your beliefs, because until you get yourself some education about a new way of eating, it can provide a little insurance. A book that helped me a lot, many years ago was Laurel's Kitchen. There is a "New Laurel's Kitchen" that is good, gives you an education and good recipes, as well as some philosophy along the way.